People who interact with Evanston police are now able to evaluate those exchanges through the department’s involvement in a national policing survey.

Starting this week, EPD will be one of about 100 agencies to participate in a study of interactions between police and the community. The Police-Community Interaction Project, which is part of the National Police Research Platform, allows residents to provide feedback on their interactions with officers and also contribute to a larger collection of data.

After a police report has been filed, community members will be asked to take a survey, which they can complete online or by telephone. They also will have the option to take the survey in either Spanish or English. The survey, which is administered by the University of Illinois at Chicago, will not be made available to EPD, but general data from the study will be provided to participating police agencies.

“We sincerely hope that anyone who has had an interaction with one of our officers and receives the letter will take the survey and provide us with honest feedback,” Evanston Police Cmdr. Jay Parrott said in a news release. “Only then can we truly understand how our officers are interacting with the community and implement changes where they are needed.”

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